LD Round Order and Timing, Memorized in One Sitting

Before anything else, a debater needs the round's actual structure memorized cold, so no part of a first tournament is a surprise.

The speech order

1. 1.Affirmative Constructive (AC) — 6 minutes. The affirmative's full case.
2. 2.Cross-examination — 3 minutes. Negative questions affirmative.
3. 3.Negative Constructive (NC) — 7 minutes. The negative's full case, plus responses to the AC.
4. 4.Cross-examination — 3 minutes. Affirmative questions negative.
5. 5.First Affirmative Rebuttal (1AR) — 4 minutes. Affirmative must respond to everything in the NC and rebuild their own case, all in this one speech.
6. 6.Negative Rebuttal (NR) — 6 minutes. The negative's last speech, covering both sides of the flow.
7. 7.Second Affirmative Rebuttal (2AR) — 3 minutes. The affirmative's last word, the shortest speech of the round, used to crystallize the one or two reasons the judge should vote affirmative.

The memory trick

Say this out loud a few times until it sticks: "6, 3, 7, 3, 4, 6, 3." Notice the pattern: constructive speeches are the longest (6 and 7), cross-ex is always 3, and speeches get shorter as the round goes on, because each side is supposed to be narrowing to their best arguments, not repeating everything.

The one thing beginners get wrong

The 1AR is the hardest speech in the round precisely because it is short (4 minutes) but has to do the most work: answering the entire NC and extending the entire AC. New debaters often panic and try to cover everything at equal depth. The actual skill, which the Refutation section's Extension Tracker Worksheet is built to teach, is choosing which 2-3 arguments actually decide the round and spending your time there.